


Untitled Modern AU

by peternurphy



Series: Rantep Modern AU [1]
Category: Cthulhu Mythos - H. P. Lovecraft
Genre: M/M, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-27
Updated: 2015-09-27
Packaged: 2018-04-23 14:34:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4880509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peternurphy/pseuds/peternurphy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nyarlathotep has been assigned to protect an eldritch being in a human child vessel. Randolph Carter has a friend with children that he's asked to manage. The factors lead to a chance reunion, which keeps pulling them together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Untitled Modern AU

**Author's Note:**

> Prompted by shedanceswithshoggoths on tumblr.

It took all of Randolph’s concentration and will power to not seem bitter to Harley’s kids. He never liked kids, which pretty much everyone he was friends with (2 living people and various cats) knew quite well, and he still wasn’t completely over Harley, which his undead friend was quite knowledgeable about. Then there was the part where Randolph didn’t even get to experience what he considered the best part of his career - not having to wake up at some ungodly hour like 9 am. Instead, since Harley was too cheap to hire a babysitter, and Randolph was too eager to please to say “no” to him, he had to drag himself out of bed at 7:45 in the morning to drive two loud twin boys to school, and find it within himself to not drive the car into the Miskatonic River with all three of them in it.

Fortunately the drive wasn’t that long - but Harley’s insistence on leaving at precisely 8:15 meant they always would arrive 7 minutes early, and the headphones Randolph brought didn’t block out screaming children as well as they should. 

And this time, it was the first day at a new school. He couldn’t just wait for 8:45 and then leave - no, he had to go to the office and register himself as someone who was not a serial killer. And then, because the kids were six years old, he had to walk them to the classroom. And then he would be expected to mingle with the parents, and then he would want to strangle himself.

He stood to the side of the classroom with a clenched fist and a tightly pressed smile. Luckily, the kids were now interacting with the other kids. He flipped through the bookshelves. Trash. Trash. Trash. Was this really a classroom on Earth, or was he in Hell? Absentmindedly, he began to flip through a collection of fairy tales.

“It’s so nice to see fathers invested in their children - really refreshing.”

One of the women, red hair and a severe black dress and large glasses and Judith Butler tucked under her arm, had approached Randolph. Her expression was sympathetic, but it did nothing to relax her. “I’m, uh, not actually a parent. I’m just babysitting for a friend - I’m a writer, he brought it up, and me, being the dumbass that I am, offered my time to help the kids.” With a grimace, he mimed shooting himself in the head.

“That’s not funny.”

She walked off, Randolph sighed. He wondered if there would be anything to drink. Probably not, considering he was in an elementary school. Every twenty seconds he’d look at the clock. At 9:30 the parents would be able to leave. It was 8:52.

“So this is what you do in the waking world? I never suspected you’d be a family man.”

The book tumbled out of his hands, Randolph stepped back. The guise was different - a red tee shirt and jeans, looking like a normal goddamn person. The voice was exactly the same, and as much as Randolph didn’t want it to, it made him feel relaxed. “And you?” He said, breathy and confused. For the love of Kadath, don’t faint.

“Child of some ritual. Mother was killed in the process, father kills people who look at him. I might as well handle the fallout, seeing as the cult was also killed.” Somehow, Randolph could tell which kid it was - and one of the twins he was responsible for was playing with her. Great.

“I’m just taking care of kids for a friend.” He shouldn’t have been talking at all. He should have been getting the fuck out of there and going home and contacting Richard and putting as many protective devices on as he can handle. “No offense, but-”

“I get a lot of stupid ideas that I follow through for no reason other than I’m bored.” He smiled, showing too many teeth. “Speaking of which - you look like you’d rather be anywhere else but here. Like a seedy motel that hasn’t existed in this universe until about 90 seconds ago.”

“That may be the worst pick up line I’ve ever heard.”

“What makes you think it was a pick up line?”

“If you’d have wanted to kill me, you would’ve done it ages ago.”

Nyarlathotep laughed, tossed his hair. “You’re smart for a human.“

Randolph made eye contact with him. The pale eyes met the dark eyes that were like looking into a void. They told him nothing. “We’ll leave at 9:30. Like normal people.” It would be enough time to change his mind.

Right?


End file.
